Successor to the immensely popular Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin, Zeppelin Air is the benchmark against which all iPod/iPhone speaker systems are compared. But earmarked at Rs 60,000, that benchmark does not come cheap. Blessed with a brilliantly unique design to go with its rich sound, Zeppelin Air is well worth your money and your ear.
Capable of streaming music wirelessly from your iDevice (Airplay enabled), or a Mac/PC running iTunes, Zeppelin Air now frees your iPhone/iPod from its previously docked position and lets you control it without having to walk to the Zeppelin every time. Setting up the wireless Airplay feature might be bit confusing for the less tech savvy among us, but should not be a problem if you follow the instruction manual diligently. Once you have set the Airplay feature, you will forever renounce the ‘physical’ method of playing music.
Besides Airplay, has also undergone under the hood changes that, while indiscernible to the eyes, are certainly a treat for your ears. If you do not own an Airplay enabled iDevice, or an iDevice altogether, then despair not, you can always dock the older/classic iDevice models to the speaker, or connect your music via the traditional 3.5mm audio jack.
Sound - crisp, detailed, and well-balanced - is what makes this black beauty really stand out from the pretenders. Projection too is extremely impressive given its size and your neighbours will agree. Zeppelin’s rich tone and healthy bass make listening to any genre from classical to rock, pop to hip hop, and R&B to electronic enjoyable. Your music has never been heard like this.
The downside for those of us in Nepal is finding a Zeppelin here. Pleading a relative or friend who lives abroad to get one for you might be the cheapest way right now, but be aware the Air is heavy at six kg and said relative/friend will literally be burdened by your ‘euta favour’. Select gadget shops in Kathmandu will order one for you from Hong Kong, but also charge an extra Rs 5,000-10,000 for the ‘service’ along with a waiting period of upto three weeks and the same goes for Harilo. But Yantrick can assure you, Zeppelin is well worth the money and the wait.
Yantrick’s verdict: Zeppelin Air is the best designed, most technologically advanced, and best sounding iDevice/iTunes music system in the market today and offers significant value for money despite its serious price tag.
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